Alyssa Jahnke ’04 and Chris Jahnke ’02, M.A. ’05

couple first date

It was my first week of college, my first Consort Singers class, and he came up to me after class in the quad and introduced himself. I remember thinking how great his curly hair was and admired his Puka shell necklace. We chatted for a bit but were soon interrupted by a guy who I had met during a "Welcome Freshman" summer session (he later told me how annoyed he was at that guy...HA!). About a week later he asked me out to an ADG party on a boat in the Marina...I can still picture him passing by my window and coming to my dorm room in Leavey to pick me up. It was a fun night, but I had been hurt by a long relationship in high school and wasn't sure I was ready for another one. I made that clear. A couple weeks after that we were on a bus ride to the Staples Center, getting ready to rehearse for a show the Consort Singers were doing with Barbra Streisand, and he told me that he really liked me, but seeing as I didn't want a relationship I would have to reach out to him. The very next night I called him and we talked on the phone for over three hours. 21 years later, 5 moves around the South Bay, a wedding in 2009, 2 girls later (Charley age 7, Hazel age 5) and he is still my best friend. My teammate. He wrote a song and sang it to me at our wedding named "The Call" telling me, "I'm so glad you made that call and now your life is here." Hey, me too!